Stay Healthy – Everywhere!
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Stay healthy – even in Waiting Rooms!
Suggestions for smart patients, especially as flu season ramps up:
Doctors offices, just like hospitals, can be dangerous places. Be prepared when you have an appointment! (These suggestions apply to all public places, too!)
- Use your own pen to sign in.
- During flu season, consider taking a scarf or face mask with you. If germs are in the air, cover your nose and mouth.
- If masks are provided, use them!
- Take some bleach wipes with you to wipe down your chair arms, and surfaces others may have touched, in both the waiting and exam rooms. Remember everything others may have touched!
- Ask the receptionists how often the waiting room and exam rooms are wiped down and cleaned. They may not know, and if they don’t, ask them to ask others. Then, ask the doctor the same question. Just asking the question puts them on notice, reminding them of how dangerous it can be. They should know! But they get busy and don’t stop to think about it.*
- If you have children with you, wipe down any toys before use.
- Use their sanitizer before you leave, or take your own to use as soon as you leave.
- Afterward, wash your hands as soon as you get the chance.
None of us can afford to get sick, and none of us want to get sick… so taking these simple steps is a small price to pay for protection. Do it for yourself, and especially do it for someone you might accompany to the doctor, someone who is at higher risk of getting sick, especially an elderly person, a baby, or someone with a compromised immune system.